1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in softball or baseball bats which permit the batter to use the bat with greater comfort and ease, and with increased batting power. More particularly, it is concerned with such an improved ball bat which includes a grooved terminal knob designed to receive the little finger of the bottom hand of a batter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional bats used in baseball or softball generally include an elongated shank or handle portion of convenient diameter for gripping by a batter, with an enlarged, elongated, smoothly tapered ball-engaging portion extending from one end of the handle. Moreover, such bats typically include a relatively thin, smoothly arcuate, radially enlarged terminal knob at the lower end of the handle portion remote from the ball-engaging section of the bat.
Many batters, particularly those seeking to maximize their batting power, tend to grip a conventional bat at as low a position as possible on the handle. Indeed it is quite common to see batters position their lowermost batting hand with the little finger of that hand in overlapping relationship to the radially enlarged knob. While many batters feel that this aids in increasing the power of their batting stroke, placement of their bottom hands with one or more fingers overlapping the bat knob is inherently an uncomfortable batting position which may detract from desirable bat control.
Various modified ball bats and other sporting devices have been proposed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,455 to Liberti describes an ambidexterous bat provided with a pair of opposed grooves in the handle portion of the bat adjacent the terminal knob. These grooves are adapted to receive the small finger of a batter, and the patent teaches that the grooves are disposed for ensuring that the wood grain of the bat will at all times be in correct relationship to the anticipated point of impact between the bat and a pitched ball, regardless of whether a right or left handed batter is using the bat. It will be appreciated, of course, that the construction described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,455 does not solve the problem noted above, i.e., the inherently uncomfortable batting grip resulting when a batter attempts to place his small finger around the periphery of the terminal knob. Indeed, the Liberti construction actually exacerbates the problem, by in effect creating an excessive disparity between the radius of the bat handle adjacent the knob, and the periphery of the knob itself. In short, the structure described in the Liberti patent would create more severe problems to a batter wishing to place his hands as low as possible on the bat handle, as compared with conventional bats. Other prior art references describing various types of grips include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,895,737, 3,084,938, 2,031,161, 1,664,257 and 1,638,454.